Ways to Minimize Excessive Employee Downtime

Excessive downtime at work can have negative effects for both employers and employees if it isn’t dealt with in a transparent and productive way. According to a joint University of Texas/Harvard Business School study, idle time costs employers $100 billion a year. Downtime can dent employees’ job satisfaction as well. Here are some tips for reducing wasted time at your business — while improving productivity and employee well-being.

Understand why downtime is happening

The causes of downtime can vary widely depending on your business. Some can be planned for, such as off-peak hours at eateries or call centers, poorly allocated tasks or unmotivated employees in an office setting, or scheduled maintenance downtime at factories. You may also have to deal with unexpected downtime due to IT failures, supply chain shortages, or other unpredictable issues.

Be clear about expectations and goals

To reduce wasted time in the workplace, it’s vital to communicate clearly and regularly about job expectations and productivity goals. You’ll also want to establish regular meetings with employees to review their progress, give them feedback, and gain insights into what makes them tick. In an article for Small Biz Ahead, Kathy Simpson notes that good communication can help workers improve their motivation, focus, and teamwork — and understand how their efforts fit into the bigger picture.

Allocate work fairly and intelligently

Often, excessive downtime isn’t the fault of employees — it’s due to poorly designed job descriptions, unfair task allocations, or underutilization of a worker’s skills. Decreased productivity and poor employee engagement could be a sign that you need to revisit job responsibilities and put workers in a better position to make the most of their time.

Have downtime tasks and training ready

Is employee downtime an unavoidable aspect of the business you’re in? Set expectations for how employees can use that time productively. In an article for Tweak Your Biz, business expert Jon Forknell recommends using extended downtime to give employees training for their current job, cross-train them in other roles, and conduct reviews. He also notes that it’s a good idea to maintain an easily accessible to-do list of tasks that employees can tackle when they’re not working at their regular tasks.

Provide incentives and positive motivation

Providing incentives for high productivity and a job well done can be a very effective way to motivate employees and reduce unnecessary downtime. According to Simpson, increased pay is a good reward to consider. Beyond bonuses and salary bumps, non-monetary incentives like positive feedback, more time off, flexible work schedules, and public praise may also be appropriate.

Allow for reasonable downtime

While excessive downtime can hurt your business, building some slack into employees’ schedules can actually be a good thing. Writing for Harvard Business Review, Jackie Coleman and John Coleman point out that downtime can allow employees to recharge their energy and reduce their stress, gain a better view of the big picture, and access their inner creativity.

Successfully managing and minimizing your employees’ downtime is ultimately a win-win scenario. Not only will your business reap the benefits, but your workers can as well.